Recommended Reading

Activism:

Drone Warfare: Killing by Remote Control

By Medea Benjamin, OR Books, 2012

Drone Warfare is a comprehensive look at the growing menace of drone warfare, with an extensive analysis of who is producing the drones, where they are being used, who are "piloting" these unmanned planes, who are the victims and what are the legal and moral implications. But this book is also a call to action, with a look at what activists, lawyers and scientists are doing to rein in the drones, and ways to move forward. More...

"Activist extraordinaire Medea Benjamin has documented how the U.S. government's use of drones to murder hundreds of innocent civilians in Afghanistan, Pakistan, Somalia and Yemen has increased the danger to our national security. And Benjamin's "Drone Warfare" is the first book that reveals the vocal international citizen opposition that challenges the legality and morality of America's extrajudicial execution drones before they kill here at home." -- Ann Wright, retired US Army Reserve Colonel and former US diplomat

Beautiful Trouble: A Tool Box for Revolution

OR Books

This anthology includes anecdotes by CODEPINK staff members and activists around the country. Assembled by Andrew Boyd with Dave Oswald Mitchell

"The current political moment calls for bold leaps of imagination, new forms of organizing and a fearless blend of confrontation and celebration. Beautiful Trouble is a crash course in the emerging field of carnivalesque realpolitik, both elegant and incendiary." --Naomi Klein, author of The Shock Doctrine and No Logo

The 99%: How the Occupy Wall Street Movement Is Changing America

Provocative, fresh, and profound, the book reveals how in a tiny park, a bold idea broke through to broad public consciousness: that regular people can take on the entire economic and political system.

CODEPINK's Melanie Butler is among the journalists, eyewitnesses, artists, teachers, union leaders, rappers, progressive icons and ordinary citizens who follow the spark of hope as it leaps from city to city, state to state, and across the ocean, igniting a new conversation about our society and the future. They share the sights, the sounds, and the solidarity of the early days, and take you on the drama-charged journey from the concrete of lower Manhattan to the mass marches and the police violence that swept across the globe.

Cheating Justice: How Bush and Cheney Attacked the Rule of Law and Plotted to Avoid Prosecution - And What We Can Do about It

By Elizabeth Holtzman with Cynthia L. Cooper Beacon Press, 2012

"Former Democratic congresswoman Holtzman of New York teams up with Cooper (The Impeachment of George W. Bush) for a detailed investigation into how the Bush administration broke the law. While much speculation has been made over the former president's awareness of the lack of weapons of mass destruction in Iraq before the declaration of war, this book barrels through his defense strategies to prove his guilt. Through carefully documenting the dates of speeches he gave to the public and Congress against the dates of investigations and reports back to him regarding the situation in Iraq, Holtzman alleges that the president was more than aware of the erroneous information in his addresses. She further examines how the Bush administration bypassed legality to set up wiretaps, tortured detainees, evaded internal investigations, and withheld government documents. It's an impressive effort, but the book suffers from its brevity and poor organization. Some sections place quotations of legislation alongside countless memorandums and documents to create something that's oftentimes incomprehensible. The case for conspiracy becomes confusing, the data disorienting, and at times the book is bafflingly dense. It's unfortunate, as the amount of information collected is astounding, and the extent of the authors' research is admirable. But without more explanation and analysis, accessibility is sacrificed." -- Publishers Weekly Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.

The Military Industrial Complex at 50 - MIC50.org

By David Christopher Naylor Swanson / David Swanson

This book is the most comprehensive collection available explaining what the military industrial complex (MIC) is, where it comes from, what damage it does, what further destruction it threatens, and what can be done and is being done to chart a different course.

"This volume brings together the wisest voices of our era to reveal the prevalence of terror in our world, and its unconsidered consequences. Until a behavior has a name, it cannot be challenged. This amazing collection of wise and beautiful voices challenges our received definition of terror, and moves us a step further toward a world of peace.? - Marilyn Sewell, editor of Cries of the Spirit.

FLOODLINES: Community & Resistance from Katrina to the Jena Six

By Jordan Flaherty

FLOODLINES is a firsthand account of community, culture, and resistance in New Orleans from dedicated community organizer and top-rate investigative journalist Jordan Flaherty. The book weaves together the stories of gay rappers, Mardi Gras Indians, Arab and Latino immigrants, public housing residents, and grassroots activists in the years before and after Katrina. From post-Katrina evacuee camps to torture testimony at Angola Prison to organizing with the family members of the Jena Six, FLOODLINES tells the stories behind the headlines from an unforgettable time and place in history. Learn more: http://floodlines.org

THIRTY YEARS ago, an international movement utilizing boycott, divestment, and sanction (BDS) tactics rose in solidarity with those suffering under the brutal apartheid regime of South Africa. The historic acts of BDS activists from around the world isolated South Africa as a pariah state and heralded the end of apartheid. Now, as awareness of the apartheid nature of the State of Israel continues to grow, Omar Barghouti, founding member of the Palestinian Civil Society Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) campaign against Israel, presents a renewed call to action. Aimed at forcing the State of Israel to uphold international law and universal human rights for the Palestinian people, here is a manifesto for change.

And Still Peace Did Not Come: A Memoir of Reconciliation

by Agnes Kamara-umunna & Emily Holland

When bullets hit Agnes Kamara-Umunna's home in Monrovia, Liberia, she and her father hastily piled whatever they could carry into their car and drove toward the border, along with thousands of others. An army of children was approaching, under the leadership of Charles Taylor. It seemed like the end of the world.

Slowly, they made their way to the safety of Sierra Leone. They were the lucky ones.

Moonrise: ?The Power of Women Leading from the Heart?

Includes essays from more than 30 eminent women who are reinventing leadership by emphasizing collaboration, inner awareness, and relational intelligence including CODEPINK co-founder Jodie Evans. Their passionate stories can inspire us to co-create a healthy, peaceful, just, and sustainable world. Explores the flourishing, passionate forms of leadership emerging from women on behalf of the earth and community. Among the contributors are writers Alice Walker and Eve Ensler, psychiatrist Jean Shinoda Bolen, holistic doctor Rachel Naomi Remen, hip-hop performer Rha Goddess, and famous tree-sitter Julia Butterfly Hill.

Stop the Next War Now

by Medea Benjamin and Jodie Evans

How can we humanize each other and act as responsible global citizens? Stop the Next War Now shares expert insight on the issues and powers-that-be that can lead us to war - including the media, our elected politicians, global militarization, and the pending scarcity of national resources. It aims to educate and reflect on the effectiveness of peace-movement activities and offers hope, through shared ideas, action steps, and practical checklists to transition from a culture of violence to a culture of peace.

Peace Never Tasted So Sweet

by CODEPINK

CODEPINK Women for Peace presents "Peace Never Tasted So Sweet" a cookbook of women's delicious recipes for a sweeter world (with action ?how-tos' and a few cookies thrown in for good measure)! This cookbook has sweet, savory, classic, raw & vegan pies submitted from women around the world who work for peace, harmony and justice in their communities. Doesn't everyone deserve a piece of peace pie? Let's redirect our nation's resources into positive, life-affirming activities; let's gather, connect (and bake) to start this peaceful revolution for a truly sweeter world.

Dissent: Voices of Conscience

by Ann Wright and Susan Dixon

Government Insiders Speak Out Against the War in Iraq: During the run-up to war in Iraq, Army Colonel (Ret.) and diplomat Ann Wright resigned her State Department post. She was one among dozens of government insiders and active-duty military personnel who leaked documents, spoke out, resigned, or refused to deploy in protest of government actions they felt were illegal. In Dissent: Voices of Conscience, Ann Wright and Susan Dixon tell the stories of these men and women, who risked careers, reputations, and even freedom out of loyalty to the Constitution and the rule of law.

Peace Mom: A Mother's Journey Through the Heartache to Activism

by Cindy Sheehan

Cindy Sheehan's latest book is the heartfelt and profoundly moving story of her journey to activism. She recounts the dark days following Casey's death, when it seemed her life would never have meaning again. She tells of her June 2004 meeting with President Bush, and how that encounter ultimately set her on a path that would take her to hearings in the Capitol, test old friendships and family ties, and culminate outside Crawford, Texas, in a monthlong peace action that would draw thousands of supporters and worldwide attention.

?What Cindy Sheehan has done for our country is miraculous and a mighty blessing. A thaw is felt throughout the land. People have started to speak, and their voices are being heard.? (Martin Sheen)

How Would a Patriot Act?

by Glenn Greenwald

This New York Times best seller by political blogger Glenn Greenwald is one man's transformation from apolitical centrist to citizen activist in defense of our Constitution. How would a patriot act today? Greenwald has some ideas. ?Over the past five years, a creeping extremism has taken hold of our federal government that is threatening to alter our system and who we are as a nation.? Greenwald adds, ?This extremism is neither conservative nor liberal by nature, but is instead driven by theories of unlimited presidential power that are antithetical to the values that have governed this country since its founding.? First released online, pre-sale orders on Amazon shot to number one from 50,000 in one day. The book then went on to hit the Washington Post best seller list and is #11 on the New York Times best seller list.

Not One More Mother's Child

by Cindy Sheehan

Cindy Sheehan lost her son Spc. Casey Austin Sheehan in an ambush in Sadr City, Baghdad, in early 2004. As information became available revealing that the war in Iraq was based on lies, she began speaking out against it and demanding the troops come home. In August 2005, she went to Texas, to ask President Bush to explain "the noble cause" for the war he cites in his speeches, and her efforts attracted thousands to create Camp Casey, and drew worldwide attention. This book is a clear, well-written statement of her case against the war and her plea for ending this senseless adventure. The book includes a foreword by Martin Sheen, and an introduction by Thom Hartmann and CODEPINK co-founder Jodie Evans.

An Unreasonable Woman: A True Story of Shrimpers, Politicos, Polluters, and the Fight for Seadrift, Texas

by Diane Wilson

When Diane Wilson, fourth-generation shrimp-boat captain, mother of five, and CODEPINKco-founder, learned that she lived in the most polluted county in the United States, she decided to fight back. She launched a campaign against a multibillion-dollar corporation that had been covering up spills, silencing workers, flouting the EPA, and dumping lethal ethylene dichloride and vinyl chloride into the bays along her beloved Texas Gulf Coast. In an epic tale of bravery, Diane took her fight to the courts, to the gates of the chemical plant, and to the halls of power in Austin. Along the way she met with scorn, bribery, character assassination, and death threats. Diane realized that she had to break the law to win justice: She used nonviolent disobedience, direct action, and hunger strikes.

Diane's vivid South Texas dialogue resides somewhere between Alice Walker and William Faulkner, and her dazzling prose brings to mind the magic realism of Gabriel Garcia Marquez, replete with dreams and prophecies.

Progressive Revolution

by Michael Lux

In The Progressive Revolution, noted political strategist and blogger Michael Lux argues that progressives today are fighting to improve America, as they always have, in contrast to conservatives, who have always worked to defend the status quo and the interests of elites. Drawing on a deep knowledge of American history and the ways of Washington, and writing in a clear, accessible style, Lux shows how progressives have time and again been instrumental in creating positive change, whether in the realm of civil rights, electoral democracy, civil liberties, women's rights, or economic fairness. Having worked in five presidential campaigns and played a role in developing important new progressive organizations, Lux knows his subject better than most. His book is an intellectual Swiss Army knife for readers interested in politics and history?and in a progressive future for America.

Standing Up to the Madness: Ordinary Heroes in Extraordinary Times

by Amy Goodman

Powerful examples to inspire action on behalf of social justice. The celebrated host of Pacifica Radio's Democracy Now! and her brother, a respected author and journalist, explore the inspiring stories of unsung heroes, past and present, who fought to keep democracy and justice alive. We meet the Connecticut librarians who defied the PATRIOT Act by refusing to spy on their patrons, the activist-soldiers who opposed the Vietnam war from within the military, the psychologist who broke with the American Psychological Association when she realized her colleagues were cooperating in torture.

Part inspiration, part activist how-to, Standing Up to the Madness includes clear, specific examples of how we all can take action on behalf of social change and justice ? whether by supporting independent media, making ethical consumer choices, campaigning to raise awareness about global warming or taking a stand against government bullying, among many other suggestions. As the Goodmans write, "great change begins with small steps taken at home."

We Are the Ones We Have Been Waiting For: Inner Light in a Time of Darkness

by Alice Walker

A beautifully packaged book of spiritual ruminations with a progressive political edge, from the incomparable Pulitzer Prize-winner?a woman who has devoted her life to befriending the earth.

Author of the perennially bestselling novel The Color Purple, Alice Walker has long been a force for sanity in a chaotic world. In We Are the Ones We Have Been Waiting For she draws on her deep spiritual grounding, her political conviction and experience, and her literary gifts to offer a series of meditations filled with wisdom, hope, encouragement, and, at times, serenity to a world in need of all these things. The perfect gift for Alice Walker fans and anyone who longs for peace, on earth and within, this lovely volume will be embraced for its wise insights and mature compassion.

Middle East / Afghanistan Issues:

A Woman Among Warlords: The Extraordinary Story of an Afghan Who Dared to Raise Her Voice, By Malalai Joya, $25, Simon & Schuster

CODEPINK has hosted Malalai Joya in several cities during her US speaking tours and helped fundraise for her important work in Afghanistan. She has been called ?the bravest woman in Afghanistan.? At a constitutional assembly in Kabul in 2003, she stood up and denounced her country's powerful NATO-backed warlords. She was twenty-five years old. A controversial political figure in one of the most dangerous places on earth, Malalai Joya is a hero for our times, a young woman who refused to be silent, a young woman committed to making a difference in the world, no matter the cost.

In this clearly and simply written biography of Meena, the founder of the Revolutionary Association of Women of Afghanistan (RAWA), Davis reconstructs Meena's life while giving a brief history of Afghanistan and detailing the early days of RAWA.

The Storyteller's Daughter

by Saira Shah

Imagine that a jewel-like garden overlooking Kabul is your ancestral home. Imagine a kitchen made fragrant with saffron strands and cardamom pods simmering in an authentic pilau. Now remember that you were born in London, your family in exile, and that you have never seen Afghanistan in peacetime.

These are but the starting points of Saira Shah's memoir, by turns inevitably exotic and unavoidably heartbreaking, in which she explores her family's history in and out of Afghanistan. As an accomplished journalist and documentarian?her film Beneath the Veil unflinchingly depicted for CNN viewers the humiliations forced on women under Taliban rule?Shah returned to her family's homeland cloaked in the burqa to witness the pungent and shocking realities of Afghan life. As the daughter of the Sufi fabulist Idries Shah, primed by a lifetime of listening to her father's stories, she eagerly sought out, from the mouths of Afghan refugees in Pakistan, the rich and living myths that still sustain this battered culture of warriors. And she discovered that in Afghanistan all the storytellers have been men?until now.

Persepolis

by Marjane Satrapi

Persepolis tells the story of a young girl's experience during the Iranian revolution. As we discussed in our last book club meeting, it is through reading and hearing the stories of those who seem "Other" than us that we realize the "Other" is not so "Other" after all.

This book will open your eyes and touch your heart and remind you of the common humanity we share.

Journal Entries from CODEPINK's Iraq Trip. CODEPINK's Jodie Evans, who traveled to Baghdad directly before and after the war, explains the stratification between American economic interests and Iraqi helplessness that is the occupation's chief characteristic.

My War at Home

by Masuda Sultan

Born in Kandahar in 1978, Sultan fled to the United States at age five with her family. Raised in Brooklyn and Flushing, Queens, Sultan saw her life change when she was married by arrangement at the young age of seventeen to a virtual stranger fourteen years her senior -- a marriage she struggled to maintain and then hastily fought, eventually (after three years) being granted a divorce. This very divorce would become one of the first in her close-knit Afgan community, where the subject is considered rare and taboo.

Sultan went on to graduate from college summa cum laude with a degree in economics, and in July 2001, she returned to Kandahar, to explore her family roots and find herself. There she met her relatives and surveyed the conservative provincial town where she was born. on return visit to afganistan, she discovered the tragic death of her relatives at the hands of American troops and began to seek answers.

My War at Home is her memoir of self-discovery, family tradition, and life as a Muslim and feminist with political ideals. It speaks to the younger generation of Muslims in America as they struggle to resolve the ever-present inner conflict about what it means to be an American and a Muslim, while also examining the Muslim-American identity at both personal and political levels.

Invisible History: Afghanistan's Untold Story

by Paul Fitzgerald and Elizabeth Gould

Despite official declarations, the war in Afghanistan is far from over; in fact, it's escalating. Seven years after 9/11, the Taliban continue to regroup, attack, and claim influence over most of the region. This book presents a fresh, comprehensive analysis of Afghanistan's political history that begins at the roots of tribal leadership and ultimately emphasizes our present political moment and the impact of ongoing US military intervention.

Paul Fitzgerald and Elizabeth Gould, a husband and wife team, first went to Afghanistan in 1981 and have reported for CBS News, Nightline, and The MacNeil/Lehrer NewsHour. Their documentary Between Three Worlds was broadcast by PBS.

What Kind of Liberation?: Women and the Occupation of Iraq

by Nadje Al-Ali

In the run-up to war in Iraq, the Bush administration assured the world that America's interest was in liberation--especially for women. The first book to examine how Iraqi women have fared since the invasion, What Kind of Liberation? reports from the heart of the war zone with dire news of scarce resources, growing unemployment, violence, and seclusion. Moreover, the book exposes the gap between rhetoric that placed women center stage and the present reality of their diminishing roles in the "new Iraq." Based on interviews with Iraqi women's rights activists, international policy makers, and NGO workers and illustrated with photographs taken by Iraqi women, What Kind of Liberation? speaks through an astonishing array of voices. Nadje Al-Ali and Nicola Pratt correct the widespread view that the country's violence, sectarianism, and systematic erosion of women's rights come from something inherent in Muslim, Middle Eastern, or Iraqi culture. They also demonstrate how in spite of competing political agendas, Iraqi women activists are resolutely pressing to be part of the political transition, reconstruction, and shaping of the new Iraq.

The Holocaust is Over, We Must Rise from its Ashes

by Avraham Burg

Modern day Israel, and the Jewish community, is strongly influenced by the memory and horrors of Hitler and the Holocaust. Burg argues that the Jewish nation has been traumatized and has lost the ability to trust itself, its neighbors or the world around it. He shows that this is one of the causes for the growing nationalism and violence that are plaguing Israeli society and reverberating through Jewish communities worldwide. Burg uses his own family history--his parents were Holocaust survivors--to inform his innovative views on what the Jewish people need to do to move on and eventually live in peace with their Arab neighbors and feel comfortable in world at large. Thought-provoking, compelling, and original, this book is bound to spark a heated debate around the world.

Military and Veterans Issues:

Winter Soldier: Iraq and Afghanistan: Eyewitness Accounts of the Occupations

by Iraq Veterans Against the War

In spring 2008, inspired by the Vietnam-era Winter Soldier hearings, Iraq Veterans Against the War gathered veterans to expose war crimes in Afghanistan and Iraq. Here are the powerful words, images, and documents of this historic gathering, which show the reality of life in Afghanistan and Iraq.

Blackwater: The Rise of the World's Most Powerful Mercenary Army

by Jeremy Scahill

Meet BLACKWATER USA, the world's most secretive and powerful mercenary firm. Based in the wilderness of North Carolina, it is the fastest-growing private army on the planet with forces capable of carrying out regime change throughout the world. Blackwater protects the top US officials in Iraq and yet we know almost nothing about the firm's quasi-military operations in Iraq, Afghanistan and inside the US. Blackwater was founded by an extreme right-wing fundamentalist Christian mega-millionaire ex- Navy Seal named Erik Prince, the scion of a wealthy conservative family that bankrolls far-right-wing causes. Blackwater is the dark story of the rise of a powerful mercenary army, ranging from the blood-soaked streets of Fallujah to rooftop firefights in Najaf to the hurricane-ravaged US gulf to Washington DC, where Blackwater executives are hailed as new heroes in the war on terror. This is an extraordinary exposé by one of America's most exciting young radical journalists. Click here for book tour info.

The Deserter's Tale: The Story of an Ordinary Soldier Who Walked Away from the War in Iraq

by Joshua Key

In the first ever memoir from a young soldier who deserted from the war in Iraq, Joshua Key offers a vivid and damning indictment of what we are doing there and how the war itself is being waged. Key, a young husband and father from a conservative background, enlisted in the Army in 2002 to get training as a welder and lift his family out of poverty. A year later, Key was sent to Ramadi where he found himself participating in a war that was not the campaign against terrorists and evildoers he had expected. He saw Iraqi civilians beaten, shot, and killed for little or no provocation. Nearly ever other night, he participated in raids on homes that found only terrified families and no evidence of terrorist activity. On leave, Key knew he could not return so he took his family underground, finally seeking asylum in Canada. The Deserter's Tale is the story of a patriotic family man who went to war believing unquestioningly in his government's commitment to integrity and justice, and how what he saw in Iraq transformed him into someone who could no longer serve his country.

10 Excellent Reasons Not to Join the Military

by Elizabeth Weil-Greenberg, ed.

The armed forces are having a tough time attracting new recruits lately, in no small part due to the mess in Iraq. Young people are getting wise to the many excellent reasons not to join the U.S. Military, and this handy book brings them all together, combining accessible writing with hard facts and devastating personal testimony. Contributors with firsthand experience point out the dangers facing soldiers, describe the tricks used by recruiters, and emphasize that there really are other options, even in a sluggish economy. This book is essential reading for anyone thinking of signing up, and anyone working to counter military recruitment.

Contributors include Cindy Sheehan and other members of Military Families Speak Out, Iraq Veterans Against the War, the National Lawyers Guild Military Law Task Force, Citizen Soldier, and CODEPINK.

Click here to read the chapter on non-military alternatives written by CODEPINKer Rae Abileah.

The American Way of War: Guided Missiles, Misguided Men, and a Republic in Peril

by Eugene Jarecki

In the sobering aftermath of America's invasion of Iraq, Eugene Jarecki, the creator of the award-winning documentary Why We Fight, launches a penetrating and revelatory inquiry into how forces within the American political, economic, and military systems have come to undermine the carefully crafted structure of our republic -- upsetting its balance of powers, vastly strengthening the hand of the president in taking the nation to war, and imperiling the workings of American democracy. This is a story not of simple corruption but of the unexpected origins of a more subtle and, in many ways, more worrisome disfiguring of our political system and society.

The American Way of War is a deeply thoughtprovoking study of how America reached a historic crossroads and of how recent excesses of militarism and executive power may provide an opening for the redirection of national priorities.

Greening:

Devil's Tango: How I Learned the Fukushima Step by Step

By Cecile Pineda, Wings Press, 2012

Devil's Tango: How I learned the Fukushima Step by Step is Pineda's anguished dissection of the nuclear industry seen through the lens of the industrial and planetary disaster now unfolding at Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Plants in Japan.

"Pineda's masterful framing of the urgency for readers to learn from the Japanese nuclear disaster ? makes Devil's Tango one of the most important and required reads this year.?? review on Huffington Post by Jeff Biggers

Black Tide: the Devastating Impact of the Gulf Oil Spill

by Antonia Juhasz

It is the largest oil disaster in American history, and it could happen again. It is more than a story of ruined beaches, dead wildlife, chemical dispersants, corporate spin, political machinations, and financial fallout. It is a riveting human drama filled with people whose lives will forever be defined as ?before? and ?after? the Gulf oil disaster. Black Tide is the only book to tell this story through the perspective of people on all sides of the catastrophe, from those who lost their lives, loved ones, and livelihoods to those who made the policies that set the devastating event in motion, those who cut the corners that put corporate profits over people and the environment, and those who have committed their lives to ensuring that such an event is never repeated.

DIARY OF AN ECO-OUTLAW: An Unreasonable Woman Breaks the Law for Mother Earth

by Diane Wilson

As George Bernard Shaw once said, "All progress depends on unreasonable women."

In the Diary of an Eco-Outlaw, the eminently unreasonable Diane Wilson delivers a no-holds-barred account of how she-a fourth-generation shrimper, former boat captain, and mother of five-took a turn at midlife, unable to stand by quietly as she witnessed abuses of people and the environment. Since then, she has launched legislative campaigns, demonstrations, and hunger strikes-and has generally gotten herself in all manner of trouble.

Nuclear Power is Not the Answer

by Dr. Helen Caldicott

Caldicott's latest antinuke book searingly debunks the claim that the impending "nuclear power renaissance," purported by some to be the only answer to global warming, is "clean and green." She covers all the bases, from the carbon emitted in the creation of nuclear power (higher than fossil fuels if the entire process from uranium mining to waste disposal is included) to the cost of nuclear plants (too high to be viable without large government subsidies) and the health risks and possibility of accidents and terrorists' access (more than we'd like to think). She also points out that, despite proponents' assurances, we still haven't found a safe place to store the waste materials for the necessary thousands of years, and that state-of-the-art nuclear plant technology is still full of unresolved problems. Caldicott's predictable alternative is also sensible: switch to wind and other benign renewables, turn down the thermostat, wear a sweater, use energy efficient lights and dry clothes on the clothesline. . . .those who believe that facts matter will want to read her frighteningly convincing argument.

The Green Collar Economy

How One Solution Can Fix Our Two Biggest Problems. A history-making plan for confronting our pressing economic and environmental crises.

?Van Jones demonstrates conclusively that the best solutions for the survivability of our planet are also the best solutions for everyday Americans.? ?Al Gore

Rachel Carson's landmark 1962 book, Silent Spring, was a pivotal ecological treatise that changed the course of history. Now, rising above the endless political debate over the environment and the economy, Van Jones, the go-to expert of our time on these issues?renowned for his work at GreenForAll.org and the Ella Baker Center for Human Rights?gives us The Green Collar Economy, which delivers an inspiring, timely, and essential call to action.

From a distance, it appears that our failing economy and devastated environment are two separate problems; but when we look closer, the connection becomes unmistakable. In The Green Collar Economy, Jones shows us how the economy is built on and powered almost exclusively by oil, natural gas, and coal?a ?gray economy? essentially based on fast-diminishing nonrenewable resources. As supplies disappear, the price of energy climbs and nearly everything becomes more expensive. With costs and unemployment soaring, the economy stalls. And when these fuels are burned, the greenhouse gases they create overheat the atmosphere and the climate crises looms. The bottom line: We cannot drill and burn our way out of these dual dilemmas.

The Tyranny of Oil: The World's Most Powerful Industry and What We Must Do to Stop It

by Antonia Juhasz

The hardest-hitting exposé of the oil industry in decades, and a bold blueprint for reining it in. Required reading for every concerned global citizen.

Why are oil and gasoline prices rising so quickly?

Where will prices go in the future?

Who's really controlling those prices?

How much oil is left?

How far will Big Oil go to get it?

And at what cost to the economy, environment, human rights, worker safety, public health, democracy, and America's place in the world?

Author-activist Antonia Juhasz (The Bush Agenda) investigates the true state of the U.S. oil industry ? uncovering its virtually unparalleled global power, influence over our elected officials, and lack of regulatory oversight, and the truth behind $150-a-barrel oil, $4.50-a-gallon gasoline, and the highest profit in corporate history. Exposing an industry that thrives on secrecy, Juhasz shows how Big Oil manages to hide its business dealings from policy makers, legislators, and, most of all, consumers. She reveals exactly how Big Oil gets what it wants?through money, influence, and lies.

Children's Books:

Butter Battle Book

by Dr. Seuss

A cautionary Cold War tale (first told by Dr. Seuss back in 1984), The Butter Battle Book still has a lot to teach about intolerance and how tit-for-tat violence can quickly get out of hand. Explaining the very serious differences between the Zooks and the Yooks, a Zook grandpa tells his grandchild the unspeakable truth: "It's high time that you knew of the terribly horrible thing that Zooks do. In every Zook house and every Zook town every Zook eats his bread with the butter side down!" He then recalls his days with the Zook-Watching Border Patrol, as he gave any Zook who dared come close "a twitch with my tough-tufted prickley Snick-Berry Switch." But when the Zooks fought back, the switches gave way to Triple-Sling Jiggers, then Jigger-Rock Snatchems--even a Kick-a-Poo Kid that was "loaded with powerful Poo-a-Doo Powder and ants' eggs and bees' legs and dried-fried clam chowder." With lots of fun and more-than-fair digs at the runaway spending and one-upmanship of U.S.-Soviet days, The Butter Battle Book makes a chuckle-filled read whether you're old enough to get the historical references or not. (And with all the Bitsy Big-Boy Boomeroos still in service, this book's message is far from obsolete.) (Ages 4 to 8) --Paul Hughes

We All Sing With the Same Voice

by P. Miller

I live across the street, In the mountains, On the beach. I come from everywhere. And my name is you.

No matter where they live, what they look like, who is in their families, or what they do, all children, at heart, are the same. This Sesame Street song by J. Philip Miller and Sheppard M. Greene comes to life with Paul Meisel's happy illustrations. Children from Texas, Peru, and southern France; with black hair, red hair, or yellow hair; named Jack or Amanda Sue or Kareem Abdu; rejoice in the fact that they all "sing with the same voice." Meisel paints a picture of diversity that is buoyant and beautiful. Children in their native garb, from serapes to woven vests to blue jeans, open their mouths wide in song, encouraging young readers to sing along with the accompanying CD. Meisel has illustrated many popular picture books, including Jean Craighead George's How to Talk to Your Cat and Go Away, Dog, by Joan L. Nodset. (Baby to preschool) --Emilie Coulter

The Peace Book

by Todd Parr

Today everyone is talking about peace. But how do you explain this abstract conceptto young children? Todd Parr is here to help. Like his bestselling title It+s Okay to be Different, The Peace Book gives parents and teachers a valuable tool in talking about a challenging subject. Todd+s bright, child-friendly pictures and simple, inspiring text tell kids just what they need to know:Timeless and universal, this primer about peace belongs in every home and classroom all over the world.

It's OK to be Different

by Todd Parr

For anyone who ever doubted it, Todd Parr is here to tell us all that it's okay to be different. With his signature artistic style, featuring brightly colored, childlike figures outlined in heavy black, Parr shows readers over and over that just about anything goes. From the sensitive ("It's okay to be adopted"--the accompanying illustration shows a kangaroo with a puppy in her pouch) to the downright silly ("It's okay to eat macaroni and cheese in the bathtub"), kids of every shape, size, color, family makeup, and background will feel included in this gentle, witty book. In this simple, playful celebration of diversity, Parr doesn't need to hammer readers over the head with his message.

Parr is well known for his funky feel-good titles, including Things That Make You Feel Good/Things That Make You Feel Bad, Underwear Do's and Don'ts, and This Is My Hair. (Ages 3 to 6) --Emilie Coulter

Let There be Peace: Prayers from Around the World

by Jeremy Brooks and Jude Daly

The world's need for peace is more urgent than ever before. Jeremy Brooks has gathered together prayers from Bosnia to Northern Ireland, from World War II Germany to China. They range from Taoist and Hindu lines to a prayer by St Francis of Assisi and from words by Archbishop Desmond Tutu to a daily prayer said by Muslims everywhere. A thought-provoking book with beautiful illustrations which add a universal touch, making this a very special book for children.

Wangari's Trees of Peace: A True Story of Africa

by Jeannette Winter

As a young girl growing up in Kenya, Wangari was surrounded by trees. But years later when she returns home, she is shocked to see whole forests being cut down, and she knows that soon all the trees will be destroyed. So Wangari decides to do something?and starts by planting nine seedlings in her own backyard. And as they grow, so do her plans. . . .

This true story of Wangari Maathai, environmentalist and winner of the Nobel Peace Prize, is a shining example of how one woman's passion, vision, and determination inspired great change.

What Does Peace Feel Like?

Afghan Dreams:Young Voices of Afghanistan

by Tony O'Brien

If the stories that come out of Afghanistan are ever to contain hope for the future, then the young people readers will meet in these pages are that hope. From street workers to female students in newly formed academies, children who work in family businesses, and pickpockets who steal from visiting photographers, these are the faces of young Afghanis who universally wish for peace in their neighborhoods, in their country, in their lifetimes.

Award-winning photojournalist Tony O'Brien and filmmaker Mike Sullivan went to Afghanistan to interview and photograph children of a wide range of ages, from varied ethnic backgrounds, and with very different daily lives. As each one tells his or her story the reader is placed right in the middle of everyday life as it is lived by children in the midst of one of the world's most enduringly conflict-ridden countries.

The Great, Great, Great Chicken War

by David de la Garza

The Great, Great, Great Chicken War is a richly drawn tale of conflict begun by those who are too afraid, or chicken, to address why they are fighting in the first place. Fully illustrated by David de la Garza when he was five years old and watercolored by his mother, Joyce Rosner, The Great, Great, Great Chicken War presents a child's interpretation of how silly people can be when they fight. The book is designed to help parents begin a conversation about conflict with their children. A portion of the book's profits will be donated to a charity for children who are victims of war or disaster.

Little Pink Fish~ Winner of both an iParenting Media and Children's Music Web Award~ offers uplifting surprises and fantastical fun. The stories are filled with frolic and play; a fish who learns to read, a monkey who teases a crab, a hero who sucks his thumb and a "hoppositional" froggy. Elizabeth's creative use of words and humor weave together Japanese phrases, charming choruses, and original music, making this CD sure to appeal to all ages from 4 up. This release breaks new ground, as it is the first to include her own original tale, Little Pink Fish, and also an Okinawan story told to the accompaniment of a traditional Okinawan instrument, the sanshin. Falconer learned to play sanshin, a 3-stringed lute, and researched Okinawan traditional culture extensively in order to bring the singular sound of the sanshin to American listeners in a unique telling of a folktale about two frogs. This is Koto World's 5th title in Elizabeth's series of "musical adventures" - perfect for emerging readers, adventuresome parents, and peace activists of all ages.

Miscellaneous:

Self-Storage

by Gayle Brandeis

Flan Parker's curious nature has translated into a thriving resale business. The secret of her success: unique and everyday treasures bought from the auctions of forgotten and abandoned storage units. When Flan secures the winning bid on a box filled only with an address and a note inside bearing the word "yes," she sets out to discover the source of this mysterious message and its meaning. It is an inward journey with outward surprises. When her search draws her toward her Afghan neighbor, convinced that a world of secrets lies beneath the woman's burqa, Flan's personal quest unexpectedly enters a more public stage.

"With fluid skill, bold as brass, Gayle Brandeis has revised the Song of Myself, reconfiguring 'self' as an open circle. This is a novel of passion and consequence, identity and accountability. I love the narrator, her children, her wild ride, and this truly American story of getting mad and getting wise." -- BARBARA KINGSOLVER, author of Small Wonder and The Poisonwood Bible

Women and the Gift Economy: A Radically Different Worldview is Possible

by Genevieve Vaughan

Genevieve Vaughan is an independent researcher, activist, social change philanthropist, and author of For-Giving: A Feminist Criticism of Exchange. Women and the Gift Economy: A Radically Different Worldview is Possible is an attempt to respond to the need for deep and lasting social change in an epoch of dangerous crisis for all humans, cultures, and the planet. Featuring articles by well-known feminist activists and academics from around the world, this book points to ways to re-create the connections, which have been severed, between the gift economy, women, and the economies of Indigenous peoples, and to bring forward the gift paradigm as an approach to liberate us from the worldview of the market that is destroying life on the planet.

We Got Issues!

By Rha Goddess and J-Love Calderon

We Got Issues! showcases a new feminine generation as they speak honestly and courageously about the 10 most important issues facing young women today, from money and racism, to relationships and motherhood. Each chapter frames a particular issue socially, culturally, and politically.

A diverse range of rants, poems, and monologues are accompanied by an inspiring portrait of a woman warrior, "rituals of empowerment," quotes, statistics, and trends. Powerful black-and-white images capture these spiritual descendents of Eve Ensler, Alice Walker, Jane Fonda, and other old-schoolers acting up, acting out, and demanding change.

Armed Madhouse

by Greg Palast

Palast's old-style gum-shoe detective work to dig out the info on the War on Terror, greed- dripping schemes to seize little nations with lots of oil, the hidden program to steal the 2008 election, and the media biases that keep it unreported are the meat and bones of this BBC television reporter's new book. Armed Madhouse is illustrated with dozens of documents marked "secret" and "confidential" that have walked out of file cabinets and fallen into Palast's hands.

Insecure at Last: A Politcal Memoir

?Why has all this focus on security made me feel so much more insecure? Nothing is secure. And this is the good news. But only if you are not seeking security as the point of your life.??Eve Ensler

When her stage play The Vagina Monologues became a runaway hit and an international sensation, Eve Ensler emerged as a powerful voice and champion for women everywhere. Now the brilliant playwright gives us her first major work written exclusively for the printed page. Insecure at Last is a timely and urgent look at our security-obsessed world, the drastic measures taken to keep us safe, and how we can truly experience freedom by letting go of the deceptive notion of vigilant ?protection.?

Ensler draws on personal experiences and candid interviews with burka-clad women in Afghanistan; female prisoners in upstate New York; survivors at the Superdome after Katrina; and anti-war activist Cindy Sheehan?sharing unforgettable snapshots that chronicle a post-9/11 existence in which hyped obsession for safety and security has undermined our humanity. The us-versus-them mentality, Ensler explains, has closed our minds and hardened our compassionate hearts.

Provocative, illuminating, inspiring, and boldly envisioned, Insecure at Last challenges us to reconsider what it means to be free, to discover that our strength is not born out of that which protects us. Ensler offers us the opportunity to reevaluate our everyday lives, expose our vulnerability, and, in doing so, experience true freedom and fulfillment.

Wrestling With the Angel of Democracy: On Being an American Citizen

by Susan Griffin

What does it mean to be a citizen of the United States? In this compelling and intensely personal work, Susan Griffin?cultural historian, poet, public intellectual?blends history, cultural criticism, and memoir to discover the essence of our democracy. From the Declaration of Independence to the war in Iraq, from Thomas Jefferson to John Muir to Jelly Roll Morton, Griffin incisively and provocatively reflects upon the rise and fall of the American vision of freedom and equality. We are still wrestling with the promise of democracy and the complex idea of equality lying at its heart, and as American citizens, are deeply affected by the ongoing struggle between tyranny and freedom.

Susan Griffin, winner of a MacArthur grant and a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize and the National Book Award, is widely recognized as one of the most important feminist thinkers of our day. Griffin has been broadly praised for her erudition and depth, and for her poetic and evocative writing style.

Right is Wrong

by Arianna Huffington

A smart, sassy takedown of the right-wingers who ran the GOP ? and the country ? into the ground.

Blog queen Arianna Hufffington trains her formidable smarts and biting wit on the right-wing extremists who in recent years have steadily been dismantling America and all it stands for. In the process, she demonstrates not only that "conservative governance" is a contradiction in terms, but that nothing less than the survival of America as we've known it is at stake in the 2008 elections.

It wasn't enough that the lunatic fringe of the Republican Party took over the GOP; in the Bush years they've hijacked the entire country. A war without end in Iraq, a deregulated economy that's gone off the rails, an all-out assault on science and, indeed, on the very principle of informed government, a regression to the Middle Ages in our treatment of detainees, blockbusting deficits ? the list of conservative achievements in the Bush years goes on and on. The striking thing is that the 'wingers wrought all this in open defiance of the American people, whose views are considerably more moderate and sane. So how did they bring it off?

As Huffington shows, the administration was crucially a docile media too concerned with its own privileges and trapped in lazy and mindless journalistic conventions, and supine Democrats who allowed themselves to be bullied and never missed an opportunity to roll over and play dead as Bush and company trampled yet another cherished value.

For those who think a John McCain presidency will be an improvement over Bush misrule, think again. For them this book is a wake up call. For everyone else, it's another reminder: time to roll up the sleeves and work for a return to sanity in 2008.

American Fascists: The Christian Right and the War on America

by Chris Hedges

When fascism comes to America, it will be wrapped in the flag, carrying a cross. --Sinclair Lewis

Former New York Times war reporter and Harvard Divinity School alumnus Chris Hedges argues that the Christian right is a threat to American democracy. Himself a devout (progressive) Christian steeped in his faith tradition, Hedges convincingly argues that the religious right is essentially a mass movement fueled by militant nationalism and intolerance and by the deeply anti-democratic aversion to critical inquiry and freedom of conscience.

Drawing on the psychological and sociological literature of fascism and cults, Hedges draws parallels between 20th-century totalitarian movements and the highly organized, well-funded "dominionist movement," an influential sect within the evangelical population whose ultimate aim is a fundamentalist Christian state that brooks no dissent. He describes how the movement has extended its influence deep inside the U.S. government, with members in all three branches of government and all over the country, via a massive network of Christian TV and radio stations.

Based on first-hand reporting of events such as pro-life rallies and classes on conversion techniques and on interviews with current and former adherents, American Fascists investigates the origins, development and frightening potential of the dominionists and argues that another 9/11-like crisis, should it come, will spur the movement to mount an aggressive assault on American democracy.

American Fascists is a passionate brief for the open society and a fierce warning about a threat in its midst.